B2B advertising methods: All the pieces you’ll want to learn about constructing an unique podcast collection 

Podcasts are extra standard than ever. With rising listener numbers, an growing quantity of companies are taking to the medium. B2B advertising groups are searching for methods to speak with prospects and prospects and drive focused model consciousness. In 2021, over 40% of the Cloud 100 firms had their very own branded podcast. However with a lot competitors on the market, a enterprise podcast can battle to face out. Robust narratives, helpful and dependable info, A-list friends, and excessive manufacturing values are wanted for a podcast to realize and maintain listeners.

Here’s a rundown on what entrepreneurs have to learn about making a B2B podcast. 

How do folks hear? Engagement occurs totally on apps and on the go 

Apple Podcasts and Spotify mix for 50% to 65% of all podcast listening (reviews range on these numbers). The remaining listeners use quite a lot of totally different cell podcast apps, internet gamers, their desktop browser or YouTube.

Podcasts are a really perfect strategy to attain prospects and prospects as a result of folks are inclined to hearken to podcasts throughout their downtime, on a commute, on the health club or whereas doing chores. 

94% of listeners devour podcasts whereas performing different duties.

Supply: BBC

Podcasts function an amazing companion to present advertising campaigns that usually goal prospects whereas they are working (chilly e-mail, paid search, LinkedIn promoting or webinars). 

What’s a B2B podcast? 

A B2B podcast (or branded podcast) is an unique audio collection created by an organization as a part of its content material advertising initiative. It’s normally revealed as weekly episodes or seasons.

It’s designed particularly for a enterprise persona at a B2B firm, which implies the podcast is rather more focused. In a B2B podcast, you might be looking for to offer particular info to a distinct segment viewers, and your objective is to coach, encourage, and entertain your listeners. 

A B2B podcast collection is commonly extra than simply audio. You may file each audio and video, turning every episode into a number of items of content material in your web site and social media channels. 

Consider your organization’s content material advertising as a portfolio — you need to have varied sorts of written, audio, and video content material in order that your viewers can opt-in to the kind of content material they like (lengthy kind, quick kind, guides, how-to’s, practitioner-led or deep dives). The important thing right here is creating high-quality choices which are consumable the way in which we devour media in 2022 (cell first). 

Do B2B podcasts work?

In response to a research carried out by the BBC, organizations with branded podcasts see:

• 89% larger consciousness
• 57% larger branded consideration
• 24% larger model favorability
• 14% larger buy intent
• 16% larger engagement 
• 12% larger reminiscence encoding

Authentic podcasts are quickly increasing to be a part of the B2B marketer’s device equipment. Many enterprise firms create a number of podcast collection that focus on totally different personas or industries. For instance, massive B2B firms like VMware and Dell have quite a lot of totally different reveals.

Excessive-growth startups are additionally closely investing within the development. For instance, Certified (which not too long ago raised $95 million) has three unique podcast and video collection, and creates Certified+ to accommodate unique content material.  

What are the sorts of B2B podcasts? 

• Interview type — Interview type podcasts are normally a free flowing dialog between host (s) and visitor(s). They’ve segments or audio cues that maintain the listener . The content material is normally for a goal persona, matter, business, or vertical (that’s, for instance, CMOs, retail, cyber safety, information) and they are often between 20 and 60 minutes lengthy. Examples: Demand Gen Visionaries, The Information Cloud Podcast, We’re in! and CIO Labeled.    
• Blended narrative — Blends visitor interviews and scripted narration. The story is normally 50% scripted, and is both pushed by private tales or the information. The narrative is pre-scripted by a author, executed by a producer and editor, and the sound design is created by an audio engineer. Examples: Usually Imitated, Information Radicals or Masters of Scale
• Scripted Narrative (non-fiction or fiction) — Complicated story that’s 100% scripted, with out utilizing revealed interviews. These will be episodic (standalone episodes) or serialized (linked to one another like a Netflix Sequence). The story is written by a writing group and the parts are put collectively by a producer and editor. Sound design is created by an audio engineer. Examples: The Hacker Chronicles, The Message or Hypnopolis. 
• Host-only — Host-only podcasts function a dialog between two (or extra) hosts discussing particular subjects, diving into analysis or research, or sharing ideas on the most recent information. These usually have recurring segments or audio cues to maintain the listener . Instance: The Superior Promoting Podcast. 

What’s the objective for a B2B podcast?

Each firm has totally different objectives for his or her podcast, nevertheless it’s normally a mixture of the next ten. The fantastic thing about making a podcast is that you could leverage it to drive influence in a number of areas of the enterprise.

• Model: Drive model consciousness to your goal market. As Chandar, the CMO of Coupa advised me whereas speaking about consciousness on the Demand Gen Visionaries podcast, “I need to paint the skies Coupa blue.” 
• Interact goal accounts (ABM): Assist your gross sales group, who’s hyper-focused on key accounts. That is the right strategy to just remember to can co-create content material with focused accounts.   
• Content material machine: Create a high-quality content material machine. The content material of a particular episode can later be repurposed into shorter audio or video clips, which is able to in flip generate extra income. 
• Pipeline: Goal key prospects and speed up pipeline. 
• Neighborhood: Construct and personal a neighborhood.  
• Class: Outline a class and assert market management. 
• Relationships: Hook up with key prospects, prospects and influencers.
• Buyer Tales: Inform extra buyer tales in a top quality audio/video.
• Thought Management: Make your CEO/CXO a thought chief.
• Social: Create a video-first method for partaking social content material 

Podcasts are longer-form content material the place the audio system can focus on complicated subjects in depth. For those who promote an enterprise product with a big shopping for committee, podcasts are an amazing device to have interaction the group. 

Give attention to the viewers 

A profitable podcast could be a extremely efficient device for fueling your organization’s development, nevertheless it’s not straightforward to create a present that isn’t nearly you. Step one in making a profitable podcast is to find out your total enterprise goal. Select from one (or many) of the examples above. However after that? Give attention to the viewers. 

Decide your viewers’s goal. What do they need to know? How will you ship it? Would you like one thing very area of interest for a particular demographic or one thing a bit broader? In creating your content material, an important consideration needs to be the wants of the viewers. When you need to align your content material together with your model objectives, discovering out what your prospects have to know and putting these considerations first is in the end the important thing to producing a profitable podcast. 

Give attention to the visitor expertise 

As they are saying, buyer expertise is the brand new model. The best way that you just deal with your podcast friends is a very shut illustration of your model. Are you establishing prep calls? Sending over questions forward of time? Do you share an episode draft with their PR group earlier than the episode goes stay? Is the visitor’s title, title and firm spelled proper? 

These are simply a few of the many issues to think about when inviting a visitor to your podcast. You need your podcast friends to really feel comfy all through the interview course of. They need to be excited to share the episode with their group members and on their social media channels. Visitors who’ve a constructive expertise in your present will be nice advocates in your podcast and total model. 

Sourcing friends and constructing a constant pipeline are two main challenges for a lot of firms who’re simply beginning to construct out their very own podcast collection. Making certain that you’ve a pipeline of high quality friends could make the method a bit simpler. 

Have a transparent format and be constant 

Subsequent, you’ll determine on the precise format and content material of your podcast. In a crowded podcast market, you’ll want each benefit you will get to make your episodes stand out. In spite of everything, advertising needs to be exceptional. 

A very powerful method to assist your podcast get consideration is to ascertain a novel, authoritative voice and a compelling format. You need folks to tune in to your podcast as a result of it affords them one thing they will’t get from different podcasts. This “emotional persona” is the mix of the authority of your host, friends, sound design, the standard of the recording, and the way the tales are advised. Putting a stability between informative and entertaining content material is hard — don’t be boring! 

Consistency is essential. It’s best to have the same format for almost all of your episodes and publish episodes on a constant cadence. Your format, high quality, and content material create a “promise” that you’ll want to ship on in each episode. Weekly podcasts typically outperform reveals that publish on a random, inconsistent schedule. Crafting a compelling narrative is tough work, so that you need to give your self the very best shot. 

Distribution is important

Simply since you constructed the podcast doesn’t imply the viewers will come. You will need to have a robust distribution and advertising technique in place. Along with getting your podcast on the best platforms, efficient methods to extend consciousness of your podcast might embody focused distribution, cross-promotions, and smartly-placed promoting. I might write one other 1,000 phrases on this, however you have to market your content material — for my part, it’s non-negotiable. 

A profitable technique

No matter format or method you are taking, podcasts have develop into an important device for B2B firms in disseminating their messages, establishing model consciousness, impacting the pipeline, partaking new prospects, and telling buyer tales. With the format proving extra standard than ever, the time is now. 

Ian Faison is the CEO and founding father of Caspian Studios.